During a road trip to South Carolina in 2011, Django Walker started to write a song dedicated to Texas football. Fourteen years later, “Texas Longhorn” plays over the Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium loudspeakers at the end of every third quarter.
Walker said he felt inspired to write “Texas Longhorn” after hearing “Big Ole (Game) Cock,” an ode to South Carolina football written by his best friend, Patrick Davis. Walker substituted Davis’ verses with references to Texas, including stars like Vince Young, age-old Big 12 rivalries and timeless traditions like “Texas Fight.” The song now sits at almost 2 million streams on Spotify.
“I love that people get behind (the song),” said Walker, an Austinite and a lifelong Longhorn fan. “I love that it brings them joy on game days and beyond. (The song’s success) is wilder than I ever could have imagined.”
The song rose in popularity among Longhorn fans over the past few years.
“If a doctor told me that I had one weekend left to live, I would absolutely make three to six hours out of my day sitting in Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for a Texas Football game,” said Blain Stockton, a journalism and sports media junior who runs @redcuptexas, a popular social media page covering Texas sports. “And that’s what the song is.”
Walker said his favorite lyric, and the one Texas fans respond to most enthusiastically, comes at the end of the fourth verse, when he chants, “OU sucks.”
“Everybody knows that line, and they sing it with pride,” Walker said. “That gives me chills.”
Before the success of “Texas Longhorn,” Walker made his name penning songs for Pat Green and Jimmy Buffett. After Green recorded “Texas on My Mind,” Walker abandoned a professional basketball career in England and moved back to Texas to pursue music. Walker’s latest non-Texas-Longhorn release is “My Hero,” a 2024 single dedicated to his late father, Jerry Jeff.
“He’s like a fine wine,” said Vinnie Ambrosone, a local drummer and Walker’s longtime collaborator. “Just keeps getting better with age.”
Ambrosone said his relationship with Walker started in 2010 during Walker’s search for a rhythm section. After performing together for more than a decade, including a gig at a UT fraternity house last month, Ambrosone said the two are like brothers.
“He treats me like gold, and he treats everybody in the band like gold,” Ambrosone said.
Walker learned how to perform in high school playing with his dad, who was formerly a prominent member of Austin’s “outlaw” country scene with contemporaries including Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Now a veteran in his own right, Walker said he continues to keep busy making records and playing gigs around the country. Walker said his only regret is being on the road during football season.
“If I didn’t get a penny to play on weekends, I’d be at every game wholeheartedly,” Walker said. “I’d be flying to away games.”
